Robot baristas are latest front in South Korea automation push

The robot can handle up to 14 drinks at a time. Drinks not retrieved within 10 minutes are thrown away, but another drink can be ordered at no extra charge.

Are robot baristas the future of South Korea's vibrant coffee culture? Dal.komm Coffee thinks so.

The company now has 45 robot-equipped outlets in shopping malls, company cafeterias, schools and an airport. Coffee is just one of many industries that could be transformed by automated services in this tech-forward nation, a notion both exciting and worrisome as jobs become scarcer.